Stormy Tuesday: Strong gusts headed our way, with potential for power outages, falling branches

SEATTLE --  It's going to be sloppy and windy in the lowlands and heavy snow up in the mountains.

Q13 News Chief Meteorologist Walter Kelley says Tuesday will be very wet with over an inch of rain for all. Expect standing water on the roads Tuesday morning.

"The winds pick up after the morning commute and will be gusty all day," Kelley said. "The peak winds will from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. The strongest winds will be around 45 mph. Most of the Metro like Seattle will have gusts around 35 mph. The winds die down by the evening hours."

The mountains will get "lots of snow and I’d expect problems up there," Kelley said. I-90 is expecting 10 inches  of new snow Tuesday and U.S. 2 over Stevens Pass is expecting much more. The ski areas will get over 25 inches.

But there's some good news. Starting Tuesday night and lasting through Christmas Day, we dry out and the overall pattern will be just cold and dry. With that said, there will be a few periods and a few locations that see a little lowland snow early Wednesday and again early Friday. The snow level drops to 500 feet but we also dry up. That means a few places like Port Angeles, Brinnon, Bellingham, Concrete, Lake Stevens and North Bend could get some snow showers during these periods.

At this point there should not be any significant lowland snow.

Winter actually starts at 8:28 a.m. Thursday and it will feel like it, as Lows drop into the 20s for the holiday weekend, Kelley said.